Concrete Nashville 60 by CONCRETE Magazine

concrete615.com 6-8 ...........................Big Smo 10 ............................. DJ Orig 12 .............DJ Proﬁle: DJ Twoee 14 ................... Music Reviews 18 .........Nashville 10: Coca Lynn 20 ............................Fli Gang 22 ................................ MPR 30-31 ......... Bring Your Own Bars Publisher: Capo Ad Executive: Capo Art Director: Rex2-tm Nash 10 Photography: Tavell Brown Photography: Tavell Brown Photos provided by: Visual Flavour Publishing Consultant: Bryan Deese

CONCRETE Magazine twitter - @CONCRETE615 concretecapo@gmail.com © CONCRETE Magazine 2015

CONCRETE: How do you feel about the title placed on your genre of music like Rural-Rap or Hick-Hop? Big Smo: People are going to call it whatever they want to, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are refering to my music. They may be refereeing to something similar to mine. I just call it Country Rap, if someone wants to call it hick-hop or Rural-Rap then fine but thats not what I call it. I grew up on Country and Rap music and that’s what I make. CONCRETE: You’re currently signed to Elektra Nashville/ Warner Bros, how did that come about? Big Smo: The attention that gained the interest from people like Warner Bros., Sony and other companies I work with probably goes all the way back to us making our own videos. I’ve been doing video work for a long time and when it came time for me to have a visual presence that represents who I was. I did my own videos and put them on YouTube and watched the numbers go from a thousand to ten thousand to a hundred thousand all the way to a million. The numbers are like the new street cred for independent artist. My credibility had got up to a point where it gained interest from people who pay attention to numbers. They look at views and plays like penny nickels, dimes, dollars. I had the opportunity to consult with different people to manage my career till I found the right one. I let them take the wheel of business and I sat back and played the role of artist. For over a decade I played the role of manager, booking agent, financing and running a whole company. We finally got to a point where if we wanted to go further we had to let someone take the wheel. I found the right guy and he knocked out some real good deals for us. I felt at home at Warner Bros. so I signed with them. This is the first major country label that signed a hip-hop artist. Its some thing thats never been done before.

CONCRETE: Coming from a successful independent career is it hard to transition to a major label deal? Big Smo: Yes, still hard to this day. I remember when I was doing this independently if I had an idea I created it, I pushed it, released it and didn’t have to wait. I waited almost three years on the label to release my ﬁrst album. It’s all about timing but in the indie world there is no timing when your done its on the shelf or in the streets. When you have a indie mind set you think of the immediate reward. Its like a hustle you want to cop then ﬂip and cop again. On the label side they want to wait, then make them wait a little more and make sure the people really want it. Then you don’t even have to go back and cop. continued on next page

CONCRETE: Kuntry Livin dropped June 2014,sold eighty three thousands units by September. Ranked 31 on Billboard, #9 on country and #3 on rap charts. Was that surprising to you or expected? Big Smo: Billboard charts alone was a surprise. I was ecstatic! This was an achievement I had worked so hard for. I use to hope I could get the next county over or I can get the next state over. Now I have the whole nation. I was in the Virgin Islands recently and a taxi drove by bumping “Kick Mud”. I was like really all the way in the Virgin Islands? But now that it’s happening, Im like this is real. CONCRETE: You had a huge feature from Darius Rucker on your single “My Place” What was that like working with him? Big Smo: It was a dream come true. I was a Darius fan since Hootie and The Blow Fish and watching him cross over from one genre to another reminded me of what I was doing. I respect him not only as a business man but as a human being, he is very passionate about what he does and he is an amazing artist. When you get around an artist that has done as much as he has you immediately start learning. CONCRETE: You made a statement that you’re working hard to make people take your genre of hip-hop seriously. Which side embraces your music more Country or Rap? Big Smo: I think both genres are accepting it equally. I’ve had a good response from both sides. Country more so than hip-hop in the sense of the country crowd really comes out for the live shows and now I’m being nominated for awards from the country side. I’m not getting anything like that from the hip-hop side. I haven’t had very many urban interviews, radio or anything like that. CONCRETE: You premiered in your self titled reality show on A&E last year, tell us about that. Big Smo: A&E saw a good opportunity to snag an entertainer and watch his diverse life unfold. It was a blessing to have the TV show come in my life but at the same time you have to look at the sacrifices that you have to make by letting a TV show come into your life. What was once my home is now turned into a TV set. There is twenty five people in my house everyday starting at nine in the morning leaving at nine or ten at night. It’s very interesting, but it is also a lot of fun. CONCRETE: What can your Kinfolk be expecting from you in 2015? Big Smo: Touring, start pushing the second single “Got Me”, new videos, second season of Big Smo, the new EP, more meat mud, a clothing line I’ve been working on for kids and my own camouflage, my moms cook book, a new video game and a cartoon. Plus I just opened up my own store called Big Smo’s Country Store out in Belle Buckle TN.

CONCRETE: For the people who aren’t familiar with you, where are you from and how did you get your start as a DJ? DJ Orig: Originally I’m from San Diego, California. I started DJing about 1994. I saw it on TV and heard scratching on base CDs like DJ Magic Mike and stuff like that. When I moved to Tenn out of boredom I started to hone in on DJing and haven’t stopped since. CONCRETE: Not only do you DJ but you are also a producer. Where did that passion come from? DJ Orig: I ended up recording a band on a four track tape recorder and that’s how the other realm of me came about. That’s the recording, engineering, making beats, programing drum machines and keyboards. You know the whole “nerdy” side of it. So I’m the DJ and the producer CONCRETE: Your also Big Smo’s tour DJ, tell us about that? DJ Orig: Smo and I have been friends for almost as long as I have been making beats and DJing. As he was getting into rapping we were already hanging out. He knew that I was making beats and DJing so that kept our relationship strong. We would always get up and make music. We have been together since the start of each others career so it goes way back far beyond the tour DJ. Where we are today has been nothing but blessings. We have far exceeded any of our expectations. It went from recording in the bedroom, him getting signed and me producing his ﬁrst LP. Which was my introduction into the industry as a producer. Then getting the reality TV show just gave me the platform to showcase my talent as a DJ. CONCRETE: How has being a part of the reality TV show changed your life, if at all? DJ Orig: So far, it hasn’t changed much. I’m more in the background during season one, without any speaking roles. What has changed is the environment I’ve been working in. It’s very different from producing music. It’s been a pleasure getting to work with the production though. As the TV show continues, I’m really excited to see what opportunities come from it. I guess you can say it’s a bit too early to notice a big change just yet. CONCRETE: Tell us about your Mud Flap mixtape series you have coming out? DJ Orig: For the past few years we have been playing at mud bogs. Which is weekend getaways where you bring your ATV, your four wheelers, and just get stuck in the mud and pull your buddies out and have a good time. Music is everywhere and you will hear a blend of country, rock, hip-hop and even club tracks. It’s a party! So being a part of that for a few years, I just wanted to build the soundtrack for the mud bogs. Volume one is my take on the Southern redneck and club/party atmosphere mixed all in one.

CONCRETE: Where are you from? DJ Twoee: I’m from East St. Louis. CONCRETE: How did you get your start as a DJ? DJ Twoee: I started a company doing sound for different events and parties. I actually came up under DJ Breezy. I would always provide him with sound. I have always had a love for music. My Father is the band director at TSU and my Mom plays the keys as well. Plus I grew up playing the organ in Church. I said I was going to DJ and a lot of people didn’t believe in me, so I went out and bought me some turntables. I’m kind of the little guy in the DJ scene. I just started like three years ago, so I’m still taking pointers from guys like C-Lo and Jazzy T. I take the advice they give me and kind of just make it better and create my own thing. CONCRETE: How did you get with 101 The Beat? DJ Twoee: Dolewite took a chance on me. He got me a job just being a remote tech. Pretty much driving the van around to different concerts setting up banners. Then another position opened up for me to curry for the company. I was pretty much the errand boy, but I took every opportunity I could until I got the chance to DJ. Then when the opportunity came up Dolewite gave me a shot and the GM liked it. They put me on the Zach Boog show every night from 10-12. CONCRETE: As a DJ do you feel it’s your responsibility to help break indie records? DJ Twoee: Yes, I feel strongly about it. I’m trying to do a Indie Artist of the week on the show and my e-mail is already full. I haven’t been consistent on it, but I’m going to get back to it. I want to highlight those artist that are really out here working that are getting those club spins and really have good music. I want to help push our city. Dolewite gave me the OK to play local artist music but it has to be good and they have to really be working. CONCRETE: Tell us about your mixtape series you have coming out? DJ Twoee: Yeah I’m going to start doing a mixtape series called No Requests. Everybody always comes in the club asking for requests, but this is my own ﬂavor. This will be what I want to hear and I’m goning put it out there like that.

Villz - Til The End Of Summer

It’s not everyday you come across an artist like Villz, especially in Nashville. Villz came on the local scene like a tornado, capturing everybody’s attention with his Til The End Of Summer project. The majority of the project is smooth and laid back. He turns the vibe up a little on the song “Shooter” but doesn’t venture far from his melodic, almost trance like sound. Yes, Villz is singing about females and relationships, but this is not only a project for the ladies. Til The End Of Summer has something for everyone. Whether you’re twisting one up or about to cut, you can use this album as your soundtrack.

Tha City Paper - Paper View 3

The Paper View series has always been a Cashville favorite. When Part 3 dropped the build up was deﬁnitely not a let down. The ﬁrst track that caught our attention was “Genius Wrote It” featuring Lito and Nashville’s newest leader Petty. All three artist contribute their share of word play to make you hit repeat. The whole project is thorough and has a real Cashville feel to it. Not only did Paper recruit some of the cities hottest producers, but he also got some classic features from artist like Young Buck, Quanie Cash, Bezzeled Gang, Grenade and Lil Murda to name a few. Tha City Paper is still feeding his fans that real and uncut, but this time he has grown as an artist and takes you beyond what’s expected.

Karizma - Built 2 Last

You could call this project a diary to the streets. Karizma speaks in depth about her daily life hustling, watching for haters and her stripper addiction. Production on the entire project is on point and Karizma makes sure her song content is at the same level. Records like “Hold On”, “Playas Club”,”Down 4 the Fight”, “D Girls”, “Built 2 Last”, “L.O.L”, and “Bulletholes” are all records that are worth a listen. It’s obvious Karizma didn’t approach this album trying to ﬁt in with what’s popular, instead she created what she felt was real and gave us a inside look into her life. Salute!

Yung Jay - Classic Music

Yung Jay teams up with super producer Fate Eastwood for this 14 track pot of gold! Yung Jay’s style compliments Fate’s production and the two seem to merge to create a sound that is the complete opposite of forced. Jay starts off with an a cappella verse that paints you a perfect picture of what Classic Music means to him. It’s hard to pick one favorite record on this project but here are a few that need your attention, “Sorry For The Wait”, “Clean As A Whistle”,”Nightmare” ft. Rittz, “Change My Ways” and “Forever Underground”. Yung Jay and Fate Eastwood did a great job delivering us this dope project, Classic Music.

photo by: Tavell Brown, brown-photography.net

HomeTown: Orlando, Florida Measurements: 34D-28-42 CONCRETE: What’s your biggest Turn On/Turn Off? Coca: Biggest turn on, an outgoing man who is ambitious. Turn Off: dry sense of humor. CONCRETE: Favorite Designer? Coca: Louis Vuitton CONCRETE: Three artist we would ﬁnd in your iPod? Coca: Beyonce, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj.

CONCRETE: Why create Fli Gang? Drupy: Ultimately, I want to be the 90s Puff Daddy. I want to be able to put together the most talented group of people here. I want to be able to help each other. It’s actually beneﬁcial to share each others movement and also share the pie. CONCRETE: What made you pick these artist? Drupy: I chose Classic Williams because I felt he was underrated and he isn’t afraid to invest in himself. Tanya is special, there is no other female rapper lyrical like her. I think she might be better than me. As far as J Gresham he can sing, he can write, and rap plus he knows melody and that’s what a great song writer is.

From: Nashville, TN Style: Lyrical, the most lyrically advanced Female MC to emerge from the South. I can do anything musically but I want to show that it’s more than just about the looks and sex. CONCRETE: What does Fli Gang mean to you? Tanya Ali: Fli Gang is My crew. Lyrical Giants! Drupy is like my Big Bro and epitomizes that Bad Boy swag circa ‘94.

From: Cleveland, Ohio, East Side to be exact. Style: I would define my style as mood music but East Coast/Midwest. I try to be versatile step out of the box, but if I was to define Fli Gang style we don’t have one. You’ll hear a different sound from each of us! CONCRETE: What does Fli Gang mean to you? J Gresham: Fli Gang to me is Voltron. Four MCs, one DJ come together to form the ultimate power in the game. We the new R.O.C! Some dope, fly, flashy individuals is what Fli Gang means to me.

From: Decatur, IL Style: Our sound has a 90s feel to it. I know for me it puts me in the era of Reasonable Doubt and Ready to Die. I’m just the DJ, but when I hear my crew spit on these beats it reminds me why I fell in love with hip-hop in the ﬁrst place. CONCRETE: What does Fli Gang mean to you? DJ Cevon: Fli Gang to me is hip-hop, that’s it. We don’t hear a lot of lyricism anymore, and my crew is giving just that.

From: Nashville TN Style: Energetic and Melodic. Expressive, truthful, very in your face and at times using my often times eccentric persona. CONCRETE: What does Fli Gang mean to you? C Williams: Fli Gang to me is being ahead of and never following the crowd. Staying true to yourself and your essence and making the best possible music for ﬂy people to relate to.

CONCRETE: Who is in MPR and what is MPR? MPR: Its me Djizzle and Game Spitta. But MPR is more of a family thing it started as just our click and wasn’t really suppose to be a label but it kinda came together like that. A friend of ours, who is financially well off reached out to us and wanted to start something. It only made since to create it with our day one guys. CONCRETE: Tell us about the EP you guys are dropping MPR: The EP is special, its seven of the most solidified bangers that you will find. Its really diverse whatever you don’t get from DJ you get from me and whatever you don’t get from me you get from DJ. It’s the same story sold in a different way. Me “Gamespitta” I come with this articulate flow and the word play is one of a kind. Honestly I want to be one of the greatest ever. I do this for the love. As far as Djizzle you get that gangsta that authentic street sound, he really got it out the mud. CONCRETE: Who are some of the producers on the EP? MPR: BandPlay did the majority of it but NYCE and Og Tha3 also played a part as well. I think we actually created a Nashville sound on this one. CONCRETE: Recently there was a little controversy with the “Put It On The Skates” song. The beat was the same beat Lito used on his album. How do you feel about that? MPR/DJ: I don’t think it was something intentional. We put the video out first, but I don’t think he heard the song and was like “Oh I got this same beat I’m gonna put it out”. I think he already had his album done and just went ahead and released it. I really don’t think there is any kind of controversy I just think we both are working and great minds think a like. MPR/GameSpitta: I mean if Lito liked that beat that shows that we must be doing something right. We always respected Star. He is a boss for what he has done for the city. We are old enough to know better and in this game that stuff happens all the time. CONCRETE: We see people wearing the MPR “Money, Power, Respect” shirts, have you started your own clothing line? MPR/GameSpitta: We are taking it one step at a time. We just want everyone to know that our whole city is a part of MPR. This isn’t a block thing or a hood thing, this is a everybody thing. Every man and woman on this earth should want Money Power Respect to solidify their place as an individual. This is something we can all come together on as a culture. Cause if you don’t stand for nothing you will fall for anything.

CONCRETE: Where are you from? Yung Jay: I was born in Nashville, originally from Cookeville, lived in South Florida for about sixteen years and been bouncing around Middle TN ever since. CONCRETE: How did you get your start in music? Yung Jay: I’ve always been a music lover. When I was like eight years old I got my first rap cd, I think it was Kriss Kross or something like that. I have been hooked ever since. CONCRETE: You just dropped Classic Music produced entirely by Fate EastWood, how did that come about? Yung Jay: I’ve known Fate for a while. We met at a hip-hop conference in Nashville about eight years ago. That’s the homie, so finally we decided to link up and put some work in together. The timing was just right and you can hear it in the music. Fate is a genius and working with him was a blessing. CONCRETE: What was the thought process going into creating Classic Music? Yung Jay: I just wanted to go in the booth and tell my story. I know I can rap but this time I wanted to really give people my perspective. This project is really diverse. I tried to put something on there for everybody but at the same time its all me. When you listen to it from front to back your gonna leave feeling like you really know me as a person. CONCRETE: For the readers who have never heard you, how would you define your sound? Yung Jay: I have a real southern hip-hop influence like UGK, Outkast, a little bit of Bone Thugs. I throw that chop in there every once in a while. I honestly feel like I have an original style and I don’t really sound like anybody out right now. CONCRETE: You have a record on the project called “Nightmare” ft. Rittz. Tell us how that song come about? Yung Jay: I actually opened up for Rittz when he was on his first tour with Dj Burn One and kind of linked up with him then. I really didn’t know much about him at the time but as I listened to more of his music I was like man this dude is dope. I was actually sitting there writing the song Nightmare and was like I have to put Rittz on here. He just fits perfect, I couldn’t hear that song with out him. CONCRETE: Who are some other features on the project? Yung Jay: I got Go Ricky Go from DJ Burn One’s group Indeed, he is playing guitar on one track. I got my other homie Double Barrel from Athens,TN on there and DJ KC did some scratching on it as well. Just go check it out and follow the movement. Shout out to Fate, all my people back in Cookeville, and of course my supporters.

NEXT BYOB BATTLE (#WarGames) GOES DOWN 4/21 at Club Fusion CONCRETE: Where are you from? CMR: Originally I’m from St.Louis. I lived there for sixteen years, then moved to Wisconsin and from there came to Nashville five years ago. CONCRETE: Where does your passion for battle rap come from? CMR: The passion has always been there. There just wasn’t really a scene in Nashville for it. I seen what was going on outside the city with the culture and seen it blossoming. I took my experience with promotion and combined the two and created a battle league. CONCRETE: Explain what the BYOB battle league is? CMR: Well it started May 2014, BYOB stands for Bring Your Own Bars. The league is about branding these MCs and bringing other MCs from different places to Nashville to help create a scene for the battle rap culture. I want our crowds to have more knowledge on the content and bars and be able to catch the punch lines, name flips, word play or schemes. We want to build respect for the bars and the culture. The city is definitely catching on though. CONCRETE: Who all is helping with the BYOB movement? CMR: Of course myself the league owner and we are in conjunction with Concrete Magazine and PettyLife Gang entertainment, our video crew HyDef Imaging and Up In The Attic Radio. We created a radio show called BYOB to help cross promote and the response has been really good. CONCRETE: How do MCs join the league? CMR: If you are a established battle rapper then we ask for you to send in your footage for review. You can send it to BYOBbattleleague@gmail.com. If your an MC that wants to start battling and doesn’t have any experience then we would ask to hear your content and cover the one time league fee. The league fee is one hundred dollars and it includes you becoming an official member of the roster. You are able to battle on the league from there on out. You are also included in all the promotion as well. CONCRETE: How often are you doing the BYOB battles? CMR: We are doing one every two to three months but the goal is to be a monthly event. In order for that to happen we have to have more talent to produce quality battles more frequently. Our next event is scheduled for Feb.21st then after that its May 15th.